


Hesitation lasts but a Moment

by Ortholeine



Category: Seirei no Moribito | Guardian of the Sacred Spirit
Genre: Book Verse, F/M, Pre-Relationship, adults being childish, flirting?, hints of anime info, is this flirting?, these two give me life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6484276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ortholeine/pseuds/Ortholeine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In reading the book (not the manga, the actual book) that the anime is based on, there's a scene that you really only see from Tanda's perspective. Tanda is checking on Balsa's wound from the first encounter with the Mikado's hunters, a few days later, and touches one of her old scars. She runs away, something we don't see in the anime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hesitation lasts but a Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Like seriously, when I saw the opening animation for the first episode I started shipping Balsa and Tanda, especially when he's talking to Toya and Saya. You know there's a history there, and it's a rich one I hope the book explores more than the anime does (I haven't finished the book yet). There two are such stubborn dorks with such a great relationship before they're even remotely couple-like. Teen-age Tanda and Balsa must have been a handful. Sorry it's so short, but enjoy!

Balsa had been injured before. Jiguro had not spared her or any part of her body during her training all because she was a girl. It wasn’t the first time Tanda had been close to her in what would have been an intimate position between any other two people. Both awake and unconscious she was beyond comfortable around the younger man, at one point seeing him like a brother. But as he drew his finger along one of her scars, in a manner that was decidedly unprofessional or even friendly, that comfort seemed to flee.

Something shot through her body, both in reaction to the skin on skin contact (nothing new) and in response to Tanda (not even remotely new). Balsa couldn’t help it as she practically flinched away from his gentle touch.

“Stop that! It tickles. You keep your hands off me.” She said before hurriedly wrapping herself up again. Balsa ignored him as the healer fell back and just rubbed his hands together, watching her. She continued to purposefully ignore him as she stiffly moved outside. The bodyguard was grateful that she didn’t have to exactly walk past Tanda but rather away from him. She heard his sigh and silently breathed out one of her own.

 

Outside the cool air felt good, refreshing. A tree that wasn’t too far away from the hut provided adequate shade and cover but wasn’t so far that walking was hard. She looked up at the moving leaves for a moment and tried to ignore the low mumbling in the hut. She couldn’t understand it but she could guess Chagum was confused. Goodness _knew_ she was confused.

Lust, and other forms of attraction, were not anything new per se to the warrior. She may not have grown up like a normal girl and gotten married young or had suitors but Balsa was far from innocent or naïve. It also wasn’t new that this conflict, this sudden rush of emotion and feeling, was sparked by Tanda.

Friends such as they were not uncommonly eventually married, especially amongst the Yakoo. Balsa sighed again and let her head rest against the rough bark. She couldn’t deal with this, not now. Not when she suddenly had a child under her care possibly for the rest of his and/or her life.

She stood up straight and inhaled deeply before going through some basic and slow exercises for her muscles. While it was not even close to her first major injury, Balsa knew she had a tendency to potentially move too quickly. She noticed as Tanda left the hut and walked towards her, but didn’t give him too much heed. They had danced this dance before: he overstepped his bounds or crossed an invisible line between them, then they acted like nothing happened and went about their business.

It had more than once been commented on by Jiguro or Master Torogai when they were teenagers. Tanda or Balsa blushing and the other not talking for a few hours would spark untold amounts of teasing and jokes about marriage. Balsa felt frustrated at the emotionally charged emotions and suddenly threw out a jab and kicked out with her injured leg. An ouch escaped her before she could control it and the woman turned to look at the man.

He was standing there with his arms crossed, and Balsa forced herself to smile. When he brought up the option to travel with him her heart raced. Something had changed in the past two years since they last saw each other, and Balsa avoided his eyes. Maybe if he didn’t make it back by nightfall that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. After all, space was something she needed when trying to think.

Essentially taking on the role of a pseudo-mother for Chagum was giving Balsa suddenly very different ideas of her future, priorities, and…her relationship with Tanda. Not that she would ever admit that to a single soul.


End file.
